Thundering down the home stretch...

After last week’s snowy weather, the scurs have been hunkered down awaiting the onslaught of the annual spring mudfest. With the high moisture content of the approximately 12” of snow in greater Bugtussle, spring could be a long, drawn out affair. Take heart, it is still March and anyone who has lived here long enough knows better than to count on March weather to be cooperative. As the snow pack melts, a gradual warming should be in the offing for the week. Starting Wednesday & Thursday we should see highs of 35 – 40 and lows near 20. Friday and Saturday should give us highs of around 40 and lows of 20 – 25. Sunday through Tuesday will be a little warmer, with highs of 45 and lows around 30. Aside from a chance of rain on Monday next week, the week should generally be dry. Normal highs are 44 and lows are about 25. The scurs are boiling the sap collected from their maple trees.

Wondered after picking up that last batch of ear corn for the pheasants if they’d use it and after the snow, am glad to say they did. Thanks to Kevin and Carol for keeping it under the roof so those of us who maintain feeders can stock them. I see the house sparrows have started looking at bluebird houses already. Fortunately the one I saw them in will be moved shortly. It’s not close enough to trees for the bluebirds to perch in and also needs a predator guard attached yet. Still a lot of the winter birds here yet although once can still hear the odd small flock of geese here and there. The red-bellied woodpecker continues to remind me of Curly with its n’yuk, n’yuk, n’yuk call. Who are these Stooges you speak of?

A fairly poor week in Gopher sports as the women’s basketball team fell in round 1 of the NCAA Tournament. All in all though, they were entertaining and great to watch on TV relative to most of the garbage that’s on. The Gopher men’s hockey team also went down in flames in the WCHA tournament although one could say they really didn’t have much to play for after winning the WCHA. It didn’t affect their seeding in the NCAA Frozen Four. Did they peak too early? Time will tell. The men’s basketball team managed to win their opening NIT game against Wake Forest. Wonder if Dan Monson regrets playing Vincent Grier and getting him hurt against NDSU when the game was well in hand? No biggy as the Big Ten in the NCAA’s is already done after the first weekend. Gettin’ itchy for Twinkies baseball soon.

At the Mall for Men, we continue to tackle the tough issues once we figure out what they are. Solved the identities of some individuals in some mystery photos. That was Ben Yerhot at the wheel on an M Farmall pulling an ear corn picker. Appears we’ve finally run through the Girl Scout cookies and the daffodils are done for another year. Thinking we need drought resistant, Round Up Ready flowers for the planters this year.

Discovered that ladybugs in the house have some redeeming qualities after all. In an old farmhouse like we live in, one can tell what direction the wind is by which room happens to have the most ladybugs in it. If the wind is NW, the bugs are worst in the SE corner of the house. Also have determined that the stupid paperclip on Microsoft Office actually was patterned after the boxelder bug. It shows up out of nowhere, gets in the way at inopportune times and is generally annoying. One can get rid of it when one remembers what window to open, but unfortunately like the boxelder bug, there is nothing shown to be effective in controlling the dumb thing long term.

Saturday was one of those multi-tasking days. Only three ewes to go! After morning chores, getting supplies and feeding bottle lambs, settled into getting the snow moved that the northeast wind had left right where it put it. Nice day so not surprising to see a ewe seek shelter on the south side of a building and start the birthing process. Kept an eye on her as I got the driveway and yard finished up. Checked on her again to see that matters were progressing normally and got the area in front of the big barn opened up so the yearlings could get outside again. By this time it was starting to cool off slightly and she’d moved inside where it was easy to get her in a pen and watch the miracle of birth unfold once again. Was done moving snow anyway and was bumping up against choretime. Just another day on the farm many of us once knew.

See you next week…real good then.

thanks for the update Dotch

Daylight Wasting Time: Nothing worth losing sleep over

The scurs dialed in a near perfect forecast last week with a few light flurries being the only fly in the ointment. This week, we get a taste of spring again with near normal to slightly above normal temperatures. Also included however are some spring showers for Thursday and Friday. Highs for the remainder of this week will range from 45 – 50 and lows will run from 40 on Wednesday night and Thursday then drop to between 35 and 40 through early next week. Highs for Monday and Tuesday should reach the middle 50’s and maybe even lower 60’s. Normal highs are near 48 and lows near 28. The scurs sense that the extra carrots they bought for those snowmen should be consumed soon lest they become Easter Bunny food.

Speaking of the Easter Bunny, did anyone and everyone hear about the occurrence in St. Paul where the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs was banned from the City Hall for fear they might offend someone? Wait till Larry the Cable Guy gets ahold of this one! What’s next, no Festivus pole or feats of strength? The Easter bunny was borrowed from the pagans for whom the hare was a sign of fertility and the brightly colored eggs were a sign of renewal in many cultures. Upon last check, I have yet to find any Biblical references to fake colored grass, Peeps, or Jesus taking the disciples out in the deep weeds hunting for hard-boiled eggs.

Spring continues to progress with or without the Easter bunny. Big Government cannot stop it although it remains foolish enough to believe it can change it in a positive fashion by playing with the clock. Set your clock ahead early Sunday AM or Saturday night before you retire for the 2006 edition of Daylight Wasting Time. For those who are always an hour late anyway, set yours ahead 2 hours if you really want to live on the edge.

In the meantime, large wedges of Canada geese are making their way with greater frequency as we complete our morning chores. There are also some pairs that appear to be the locals that are hanging around. Larger flocks of red-winged blackbirds and grackles are arriving en masse as the robins appear to have set up camp around the yard. The rooster pheasants continue to court their prospective mistresses and there are plenty of little warblers amongst other things in the thickets that I simply don’t have time to gaze at to figure out who they are. Horned larks are everywhere as I noticed the other day while talking to a farmer near Blooming Prairie in his yard. The goldfinches are nearly yellow too. Always look forward to their appearance about mid-April when they’ve reached full color in contrast to the still barren trees.

March Madness continues. The Gopher men’s hockey season ended on a whimper in OT against Holy Cross. Still they were a welcome diversion when we’d come in after chores on a cold Friday or Saturday night all season. Gopher men basketballers were overmatched against Cincinnati but there again, were fun to watch at least part of the time. The NCAA’s have been exciting. So many last minute shots, underdogs playing deep into the tournament and OT games one rally gets their cable bill’s worth out of it. Sure glad I didn’t participate in any pools this year.

One more ewe to go and lambing season will officially be over. Won’t be long and we can shift the ewes with lambs to the lot by the road and cause the annual gawker slowdown. Warmer weather is needed though to melt the snow off the pastures so they can once again get at those first green blades of grass.

Unfortunately one of our old favorite ewes won’t be around to enjoy that grass. Ivory, whose thumbnail photo graced the pages of the original American Cheviot Sheep Society website (http://members.aol.com/culhamef/bcheviots/cheviot.htm) died after struggling while giving birth. She was 11, which for a sheep is pretty ancient. Ivory went to Louisville along with her twin sister Ivana to compete at the NAILE as a yearling in 1996. She didn’t place well as she was too small but both of them caught the eye of Henry Kuykendall, one of the foremost Border Cheviot breed type aficionados in the country. He told me what a gorgeous headed pair of ewes we had raised and they were two to hang onto. Even though we hadn’t shown well, it made me feel proud just the same.

Apparently Henry was right as lots of people liked her offspring over the years and requested them. As recently as last year, we sold some extremely pretty buck lambs out of her to some folks in the western US. An even dispositioned critter, she was one of those ewes that was curious about what you were doing in the barn when we’d go out to check for lambs. Not in the way but always there when you’d turn around. And she liked to do silly things like come over and drink the warm water out of the bottle bucket. Could get a little annoying but at 11 years old, just mutter “ old dummy” and overlook it.

Call me a softy if you will but when I lose an animal I really cared about I always try to keep some small memento of a life that was whether it’s a collar from a dog or the tag that a ewe’s worn in her ear since I placed it there all those years ago when she was a lamb. Wonder to myself, how many miles that little plastic green ear tag traveled and how many apples, toads and chipmunks Ivory encountered on her journey. It’s a little like retiring a sports jersey I guess. We’ll never allow another ewe to wear 95-32 again.

See you next week…real good then.

Maresy-doats and dozy-doats,
And liddle lamzy divey,
A kiddley divey too,
Wouldn't you-oo?


The scurs homed in on last week but forgot about Sunday’s added bonus. At the ranch, rain gauge totals for the Friday rain were sketchy, as the gauge didn’t get put out until afternoon. Was about .6” but looked like about an inch judging by water buckets, etc. Sunday blessed us with another .8” so needless to say, it is wet. The good news is it will warm up. The bad news is it will likely get wetter in the near-term. Starting Wednesday we should see highs top out around 60 with lows in the mid-40’s. With the warmer temps comes more rain probable Wednesday night, Thursday and possibly lingering showers into Friday. Highs Thursday will be 60 trending down to the low to mid 50’s through early next week. Lows will remain fairly steady, around 35 in that timeframe. More rain likely for early next week. The scurs have disconnected their phone for fear of threats due to the rainy forecast.

Speaking of phones, was lamenting the fact other day that it has become much more difficult to pull prank phone calls since that advent of caller ID. Not that I’d ever do anything like that but it was always reassuring to know that one could. A couple of the little fat buddies now have their own bobbleheads and one of them recent became a proud papa recently. Poor kid shares my birthday. Congrats Rick and Jackie!

Lambing season is done as of this past Monday. (I think) Sleepless nights are at an end. (I know)

Looks like the frost is nearly out of the ground as some of the puddles in the fields are disappearing. If you’re going to ice fish on St. Olaf Lake, you’ll have to bring your own ice, as when this reaches print, the ice will be gone. Sunday morning the blacktops were strewn with night crawlers, much to the delight of the robin and blackbird population. I see the remaining house sparrows have tried to get a jump on me in the barn as I’ve noted 3 locations where they’ve started building nests. Have pellet gun, will travel. Frogs were croaking ever so slowly Monday night. Doing the math, it was cold. Pocket gophers have been digging in spots but as of yet, not on our side of the pasture fence. Frost is probably not out there yet. That or neighbor David snuck out and trapped ‘em last fall when I wasn’t looking. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Spent Saturday removing and renovating some bluebird houses that were in need of relocation. Put some purchased predator guards on and purchased some material to manufacture enough for the rest of the houses. The plan is to put them on posts that are tough for predators to climb and the additional guards on the houses themselves should keep raccoons, cats, opossums, etc., from sticking their grubby little paws in the hole and fishing out the contents.

Was also a great week and weekend for viewing the newly arrived waterfowl. What we see varies from day to day but last Thursday when the ice went out, we started off with ring-necked ducks, mallards and Canada geese. Friday saw the arrival of hooded mergansers and Sunday there were Northern shovelers added to the mix. The neighbors to the north reported seeing buffleheads on their pond in addition to some of the same ducks we had. One of the mallard pairs appears to have staked a claim on the mallard nesting platform I put up a few weeks back. The hen was sitting atop the structure on Saturday morning and Monday evening as I checked the electric fence, she was still there, her beau swimming nearby. First blue- winged teal noted Tuesday AM. Time to get the predator control program in gear.

Early spring always meant getting ready for seeding small grain as a lad. Once the field was deemed to be fit, we’d disk it down with the old no. 37 IH disk, drag it then borrow neighbor Sam’s old galvanized seed box Case drill. Since it was a mechanical lift drill and the fields were usually odd shaped, we’d seed the fields round and round without lifting, then seed the corners in after we were done. If it didn’t rain after we were done, we’d frequently drag the field lightly again to cover the alfalfa seed lying on top of the ground.

Some of the oats we used to grow included varieties such as E-70 and E-73, which were early, white-seeded, multi-line blend oats. As the name implies, they were blends of lines that had varying degrees of resistance to the predominant races of crown rust but otherwise very similar agronomic traits. Later we grew some yellow-seeded Noble oats but they never quite measured up in yield. At the Pleasant Grove farm we rented on shares, sometimes wheat was seeded. Still recall renter Ernie Klomps seeding Era semi-dwarf wheat in late March and getting a then almost unheard of 60 bushel per acre.

This was back in the mid-1970’s when I remember looking at the Minneapolis grain markets in the newspaper and marveling at the hard amber durum wheat price being over $7 per bushel. I also wondered what hard amber durum wheat actually was and why we weren’t growing it. Little did I know that my future would be impacted to some degree by folks who actually grew this crop. More on hard amber durum wheat at a later date.

Finally, a thank you to all who supported the Lions Pancake Feed benefit for Ethan Strenge either with your attendance or your donations. It was a huge success. My coat still smells like a pancake. 4-year-old Ethan has been battling a rare type of childhood cancer since last summer and it was just great to see the continued support this community gives this very deserving young man. May God continue to help him, his family and this community as he continues to make progress towards the day he is cured.

See you next week…real good then.

Things are just ducky...

The scurs were on the money again last week, batting much better than the Twins have so far. Starting with Wednesday this week, we should see above normal temperatures, but not necessarily drier spring weather conditions on tap for this week. Normal highs are around 55 and lows near 35. Look for highs to range from 65 – 70 through Saturday and lows to run between 40 and 45. Thursday through Monday offer the best chances for precip. As we get through the weekend and into next week a slight cool down is in store but conditions should remain dry. Highs will start on Sunday at 65 and trend downward gradually for a high of 55 by Tuesday. Lows will follow suit, with Sunday’s low at 40, Monday reading at 35 and Tuesday possibly near freezing once again. The scurs remind you to drain your hose in case of such an event.

The Full Moon will occur on Thursday and depending on who you are, it has many names. The tribes of the northeast called this moon the Full Pink Moon because of all the pinks that would bloom this month. The Ojibwe called it the Full Sap Moon as they were commonly boiling maple sap. In some locations it was also referred to as the Broken Snowshoe Moon as the hard crusted snow would tear the rawhide webbing on their snowshoes. The Sioux were more concerned about the grass that sustained the buffalo they relied on for their food. They called this the Moon of he Greening Grass. Given the ample rainfall and warmer temperatures in store, some of us may be wishing we had some buffalo around.

This daylight saving time is just the ticket for accomplishing those tasks one has been putting off the past several months. Recently spent some of the time I saved to replace the burned out light bulbs in the barn so we could see what we’re doing when we get up in the dark every morning to do chores. At the Mall for Men, discussion this week has ranged from field peas being planted to rumblings of anhydrous to be applied soon. Also musings of people getting stuck soon.

Waterfowl and other birds continue to migrate through with some staying behind to set up shop. Last Tuesday marked the first great blue heron of the season and the next day, the first tree swallows arrived. Fox sparrows became common in the CRP. Also noted was a bufflehead, a small diving duck that kept me guessing as it was under the water more than it was on top of it. Saturday AM brought in wood ducks and American wigeons, along with more blue-winged teal and their gadwall relatives. Monday a snow goose was mixed in with a group of Canada geese and stuck out like a sore thumb.

Some don’t care for them but the geese serve as a warning system for the pond. When the geese become agitated, they sound the alarm and little ducks come out of the weeds to see what’s going on not unlike the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz. Of particular interest was a dragonfly zipping around this past Monday night. Some years on April 10th, there are still snow banks hanging around. The warmer weather has also increased the decibel level of the frogs in the area ponds and puddles. The wonderful background music of spring.

Got the majority of the predator guards on the remaining bluebird houses. At last count, think there are 9 houses total of 5 different types. There are also two kinds of predator guards making this a rather complicated experiment. The tree swallows have been surveying them but as of yet, no bluebirds. Kicked the sparrows out of one already and evicted them from the nests they started in the barn as well. See they’ve started rebuilding in the barn almost as fast as I tore them down. Serenity now!

Saturday, little 3-year-old Harmon, his Mom and babysitter came up to visit the sheep and in particular the bottle lambs. Gus and Lucy were glad to have someone to herd and Gus showed his appreciation by shaking hands with master Harmon when he tried to hug him. It’s always good to see parents who are concerned that their kids are taught where their food and fiber comes from as well as allowing them to be kids. That and when they’ve also taught the kids respect. Was most impressed with Harmon’s use of “please” and “thank you’” and when he didn’t perform up to his Mom’s expectations, she followed up and made him do it right. Was fun watching him disappear, searching out new adventures as is a youngster’s wont, all the while the dogs keeping an eye on him. Look for the dogs; find the kid.

Some things haven’t changed, have they? Just ask my Mom. When visiting her last Sunday, she said all she had to do to locate me was to call the dog and head in the direction the dog came from. Am sure many times she found me watching some bugs, butterflies or playing with the little ribbon snakes that were frequent residents in the yard. Funny how those years are some of the most important in developing the interests that later define who we are. The animal companions, specifically the dogs, are also major contributors. Always there, always glad to see you and will lick your tears away when you’re down.

There are several heartworm clinics in our area over the next few weeks. If you haven’t already done so, take the time to get your family companion checked out and put them on heartworm medication. The wet spring so far promises to make for a banner early mosquito season. Help keep that 3 year old inside you alive.

See you next week…real good then. (Right, Jane?) ;-)

Real good, Dotch! Real good.

And it burns, burns, burns...

With temperatures running well above normal last week, the scurs decided it might be time to invest in a new thermometer. This week however offers a more seasonal forecast from a temperature standpoint and a good chance of more rain on early Wednesday through Thursday. Normal highs are near 60 and lows are in he mid-30’s. Highs Wednesday and Thursday should be in the mid 50’s with lows in the mid 30’s. From Friday on through next Tuesday, expect highs in the mid-60’s and lows between 40 and 45. While the scurs are not superstitious, they continue to keep their snowshoes out in plain sight to ward off any evil snow spirits.

Good progress was made last week in local fields with peas and small grains being planted. Alfalfa fields have greened up and have over wintered extremely well. Anhydrous ammonia went on well and some corn went in the ground in places as well. Fortunately, most were wise enough not to get too carried away. While soil temps at the 4” depth were well above the magical 50 needed to germinate corn, most took their time and used the time spent to get the bugs out of the planted rather than trying to see how much they could plant. It was after all still mid-April.

April showers are definitely bringing flowers but due to the temperatures, pushing them ahead of schedule. In town where it’s more sheltered, lots of tulips and daffodils are evident whereas here in the wide-open spaces, last week brought the crocuses out as well as some snowdrops. Trees are budding out and while this week will slow things down a bit, we should see leaves sooner than later. Got all the tree guards removed early last week and the nannyberries were already starting to bud out inside the wrapping. The rabbits did a number on the small arborvitae, something they will probably regret doing. A couple large brush piles are awaiting a match after the weather dries a bit and we get a SE wind. Rabbit: That is one tough monkey!

Spring means Twins baseball and this past week’s home stand marked a turnaround in their fortunes. Most teams would take sweeping Oakland and taking 2 of 3 from the Best Team Money Can Buy. Hopefully when the Twins go back on the road they can keep the momentum going. The starting pitching has been good enough and the defense keeps them in games they would’ve other wise been out of last year. Timely hitting has brought them back in every win as of this writing and if it continues, this will be an exciting year to watch our beloved Twinkies.

Looks like the big migratory push is over for the waterfowl. Several pairs of teal, shovelers, mallards and a few ring-necked ducks are all that remain of the dozens that were there only a few weeks ago. One pair of geese seems to be on hand too but not all the time, making me wonder if they’re just visitors from one of the other area ponds. In the yard, the goldfinches are almost at full color, with a few patches of winter’s leftover drab olive still in evidence. Still no hummingbirds or orioles but it’s time to put out the feeders and see what shows up.

The mosquitoes showed up last Tuesday down by the pond. Rather large, about the size of a small crow, but bumbling in nature, yet still fully capable of biting and raising a welt after they’ve done their business.

From back in the days of living in the Little House on the Prairie near Rock Lake North Dakota, some of the first crop put in was mustard. That’s a weed you say and you’re right, but this mustard happened to be of 2 types, yellow and Oriental or brown. Grown only under contract, it was seeded with a drill at around 3 or 4 lbs. or roughly a million seeds per acre. Mustard tolerates frost very well and when it comes up, it looks just like a radish. With good reason; it’s in the same family. It was a rather simple crop to grow, didn’t require a lot of fertilizer although the herbicide options were rather limited. Pests included flea beetles, which incidentally are also a pest of radishes. There was also a little diamondback moth that generally was a novelty rather than a major problem. A greater concern usually was the potential for being sawed off in the early stages of growth by blowing soil from one of the numerous spring dust storms.

When the fields flowered they were of course a blazing yellow in contrast to the emerald green of the wheat and barley or the gentle blue of the neighboring flax fields. When the mustard crop began nearing maturity, it was swathed and laid in windrows that tended to be rather fluffy and subject to being blown around by the wind. Sometimes the windrows were rolled to flatten them somewhat. Once combined, the crop didn’t stay on the farm long and it was on its way to the processor. The locals however used to save a little back and made their own condiment/concoction. Grinding the brown mustard seed in a blender and adding a little distilled vinegar, it produced a nice burn not unlike horseradish, from start to finish.

See you next week…real good then.

One good thing about corn planter plates: You don't have to wash them!

The scurs delivered on a seasonal forecast for last week. Even though rain eventually brought things to a halt late last week. Precipitation was generally light. This week also offers light precip chances on Friday but little through the end of the month into early May. Highs Wednesday through early next week should be between 65 and 70 and lows in the low to mid-40’s. Normal highs for this time of year are in the low 60’s with lows in the upper 30’s. The scurs are getting their May baskets ready for next week.

At the Mall for Men, sessions have been limited to days with those nuisance popcorn showers. Rain gauge reports were exchanged and it was unanimous at 38 degrees, it will freeze in the peats. With Tuesday’s cool morning, one of the little fat buddies sadly announced it was even too cold to go to Dairy Queen.

Getting lawnmowers ready seems to be the order of the day. Dead batteries, units that won’t start, blades to sharpen, oil to change and the usual frustrations. Gus has already started his spring yard work. With all the craters he’s dug, the backyard has taken on the appearance of a lunar landscape. Am expecting a call from NASA wanting to film more of those fake scenes from the moon landing.

Twinkies=stinkies after last week. Not pretty. After starting pitching was doing just well enough to get by it has tanked. Let’s hope they get with the program against lowly KC. Look what it did for the White Sox.

Brown thrashers and meadowlarks topped the list of birds singing this week. Nearly a dozen pair of blue-winged teal on the pond, along with 3 or 4 sets of mallards and the odd shoveler. Still a lone drake ring-necked duck. Have not seen a hen so am wondering if she’s setting in the weeds somewhere.

Matching seed up to the planter plate was always a necessary evil. Even though the seed corn bag would say which plate to use, it was always a wise idea to put some corn in the planter and try it out just to make sure the drop was adequate. Most times the best place to try this was on the driveway. Drop the planter and pull ahead, trying to drive roughly the same speed as one would travel in the field. Sometimes the plates were right on the mark and other times one would have to dig through the pile to see what might be close, be it a large flat or medium round. Many of the old plates were made of steel but as plastics were improved, they were made of colorful plastic. And as in the present day, equipment companies made sure that the only plates that would fit in their planter were their own.

As most of you who have been out in the country have seen, planters are rolling across much of the greater Bugtussle area. Fit conditions have been slow coming after Easter’s rain but at least we haven’t seen the 7 Sundays of rain. It skipped last weekend and blessed us with a gorgeous drying day. A little early perhaps to plant soybeans just yet but for corn, it’s go-time! (Mandelbaum! Mandelbaum!)

Getting the fields ready for planting was generally a good time growing up, especially if it meant getting out of school to do it. We’d often trade labor with the neighbors too if there were someone getting behind. One year Dad struck a deal with a neighbor to plant our corn and in exchange we did some spring plowing and I helped one day to get his fields ready to plant. I got to drive and un-styled John Deere A, complete with spoked rear wheels and flywheel starter. Jerry started it for me, hooked it up to a small 4-section drag and instructed me as to what he wanted done.

It was interesting to say the least. Void of creature comforts, the A was crude from the get-go but had a lot of lugging power in those relatively huge twin cylinder pistons. Up and down the hills I went, pulling the drag as fast as the tractor could pull it. When I got done with the field, I pulled the hand clutch back and to my surprise, nothing happened! I looked down to see the pin that connected the clutch linkage had fallen out. Now what, I thought. Jumping off wasn’t an option, the tractor was full of fuel, there was no key to turn it off and I wasn’t pulling an implement that really bogged it down much.

So I went over the field again hoping Jerry would show up so I could flag him down. He didn’t and I was beginning to wonder how I was ever going to get off this tractor with a mind of it’s own. Finally, I was able to get down into the far corner of the field and by turning hard with the brake and throttling it down as far as I could, the A finally went pop!…pop!……pop!………pop!……….pop! and killed as I pointed it up the hill. A few minutes later Jerry showed up and apologized for the problem and said there really wasn’t much else I could’ve done. He appreciated the job I’d done and I appreciated some of the “old junk” we farmed with at home a little bit more.

See you next week…real good then.

Time to plant corn. Thus sayeth the oaks.

The scurs were rather soggy after the system that visited on Friday decided to stay for the weekend. All told however, accumulations were around 1.5”. The problem is the week ahead looks to be generally cool and damp. Starting Wednesday, highs should range in the low to mid-60’s and the lows should remain between 40 and 45. Best chances of precip are Thursday and Friday then again next Monday and Tuesday. Normal highs are 65 and lows are about 43. The scurs are thinking it’s time to buy stock in an umbrella manufacturer.

Good progress was made locally in the fields until Friday and a rough guess on area corn planted would be 75%. Some soybeans are in the ground as well. The good thing there is if they don’t make it, there is plenty of time to replant. The early-planted corn has begun to emerge and small grain has greened up the landscape. Alfalfa is nearly a foot tall and very lush. Wouldn’t be a good time to have the cattle or sheep get out right about now.

Some of the little fat buddies headed north to visit a little fat buddy alumni in Alex. It was pointed out again where Bob’s sister lives on Le Homme Dieu. You’d think Ryan would get it figured out pretty soon.

One thing about the Twins this year, at least they’re consistent. After managing 2 out of 3 from KC, they absolutely stunk against Detroit, getting outscored over the weekend 33 – 1. Aside from horrible starting pitching and lousy hitting, they’re playing pretty well. Time to abandon ship? No but probably time to shake some things up. It’s obvious what they’ve been doing isn’t working. George is gettin’ upset!

At least the birds have been entertaining lately. Was checking bluebird houses last week along the fenceline and spied a pair of Hungarian partridge. Still no bluebirds yet but last year it wasn’t until May that they arrived and built nests here. Put out the oriole and hummingbird feeders and as of yet, no activity at either feeder. The barn swallows have returned although the cooler temps have slowed insect activity immensely. Robins start singing at 5:30 AM and the mourning doves coo about 5:45. Fellow bird watcher/feeder Steve reported a belted kingfisher is back again near their house on Boot Creek. These were always residents of Masonic Park north of Spring Valley when I went through there as a lad. After putting up new houses for them over the weekend between showers, Tuesday morning I heard my first house wren singing from the thicket. It’s official: Spring is here.

Took a trip down by the pond for the first time in a week on Sunday. Still plenty of blue-winged teal, mallards, ring-neck ducks and one pair of wood ducks. More reeds and sedges showing up around the pond’s edge and the tree and barn swallows skim the surface to nab whatever they can off the surface. When I returned from the area I felt something crawling on my leg and was pretty sure I knew what it was. I was mistaken however when it turned out to be none other than one of those pesky ladybugs. Was sure I’d found the first wood tick of the season but alas, just another exotic pest species.

Winding down on feeding the last bottle lambs. For some reason, I always save the measuring cups that are included in the milk replacer for Mar-Mar. They’re just too nice to let them go to waste. Have visions of going to their place to eat someday and being served beverages in them. At least the glasses would still have the mixing instructions on them. Wonder how it would taste with chocolate?

Around the countryside this past week, one could see the little wild plum thickets in bloom and some of the tulips have opened up. One of the nicer serviceberry bushes planted last year has had some very pretty white flowers on it. Am sure the birds will eat the berries as fast as they show up. They always do. Oak tree leaves are the size of a squirrels ear. Time to plant corn or it was. In the lawns, some have had questions about Creeping Charlie and violets. Even saw some wild strawberries in bloom in one lawn.

Lawn mowing has been a difficult task this past week, especially if one doesn’t get a chance to do it until after work and the chores are done. The rainfall has kept the grass wet and growing like mad, especially where Gus and Lucy have fertilized it. Since it seems to rain mainly daylight hours, a word of advice if buying a new lawnmower: Buy one with good lights on it.

Some days chores are more interesting than others. One morning I spied something floating in a water bucket. Usually it’s a drowned mouse or a sparrow but this morning there happened to be a big fat toad swimming around. Right in the middle of Monday evening chores, the dogs put up a fuss and I looked up to see what the din was about. A white mini-van had pulled up outside the barn and little Jessica was heading towards the big door with a May basket. She is the proud owner of one of our bottle lambs and judging by all the goodies in the basket, she really likes her. Jessica is lucky to have such a nice grandpa and Angel is lucky to have Jessica.

See you next week…real good then.

For now I smell the rain, And with it pain, And it's headed my way. (Page/Plant)

The scurs found it difficult to dry out this past week following the prior week and weekend’s rain. While the early week promises to be damp, the end of the week and early next week should promise a little drier weather regime. Monday night’s rainfall varied anywhere from .5” – 1.8” across the Greater Bugtussle area according to official Mall for Men rain gauge reports. Also hail northwest of town. It will remain slightly cooler than normal. Normal highs for this time of year are around 68 and normal lows are close to 45. Wednesday we should witness highs near 65 and lows of 40 – 45 with our best chance of rain for the week. Thursday through Saturday will be cooler with highs near 55 - 60 and lows of around 40. Sunday through next Tuesday bring with them stable weather with highs near 65 and lows of 45. For Saturday’s fishing opener, the scurs will break out the Carhartts they wore during deer hunting season with the white hanky in the back pocket. If this doesn’t bring them luck, nothing will.

The full moon this month falls on Saturday the 13th. This full moon goes by several names including the Full Corn Planting Moon for obvious reasons and it was commonly known as the Full Milk Moon. It was common for the cows to be turned out on lush pastures after spending the winter holed up in the barnyard. As a result of consuming the lush, green grass, the cows produced milk with a more yellow color to it due to the carotenoid pigment it contained. Sometimes also known as the Don’t Stand Behind the Cow in the Stanchion Moon. The moon was called the Full Blossom Moon by the Ojibwe and the Sioux knew it as The Moon When the Ponies Shed. At our house, we know it as the Moon When the Border Collies Shed. Of course, that goes for most full moons.

It’s always interesting to watch the flowering vegetation change as spring progresses. The plum blossoms have started to fade and in their place, the flowering crabapple trees have been just waiting for it to warm up to take center stage. The regular apple trees are right there too but if all goes as usual, the wind comes up and makes their beauty all too short-lived. The dandelion crop is phenomenal once again but the ewes don’t mind eating the succulent foliage as fast as they can gobble it down.

This past week brought many new visitors to the feeders and yard in general. On the pond, it appears there are nesting pairs of mallards and teal. My hope is the predators leave them alone this year so that there are ducklings that make it to adulthood. The Harris sparrow and white-crowned sparrows both made an appearance last Wednesday. They have been regulars each of the past several years. The first northern oriole appeared the following day and proceeded to get in a singing contest with the brown thrasher. He’s stayed around and the contest continues. Cedar waxwings like to hide in the new leaves of the apple trees and peek their heads out to see what’s going on. A yellow-rumped warbler watched as I mowed near the plum trees on Tuesday night. A pair of golden plovers flew off as I was zipping across a field on the 4-wheeler west of Bugtussle. Likely heading to their summer home in Northern Canada

Field progress has been steady by jerks between rains. Conditions have been marginal in many places and have made for some interesting bomb sessions at the Mall for Men and helps keep the bakery in business. And we play local Trivial Pursuit. “That’s not “Moops” you jerk, it’s Moors!”

Happy Mother’s Day to all those Mom’s out there who put up with those of us over the years. Though like mine, they may have survived kids throwing apples at cars, kids that disappeared down behind the hay bales in the barn and kids with digits nearly severed by bean hooks, they still cared for us all the same. Make sure you make the time to spend with your Mom this Mother’s Day. Without them, we wouldn’t be here.

See you next week…real good then.

Duck...duck...wood duck!

The scurs dropped the ball on the weekend forecast once again leading one to believe the Force is not with them. Oh well, anything will have to be an improvement over the cold, damp weather of last week. Starting with Wednesday, highs should be near 70 and lows between 40 and 45. There is a slight chance of a shower through Friday. Temperatures should remain in that range through Tuesday next, with slight chance of showers again on Monday. Normal high is near 70 and lows around 48. Longer-term outlook appears to bring us another hint of summer the last week in May. Having recovered from the opener, the scurs will devote their full attention to weather forecasting in earnest rather than telling fish stories.

At the Mall for Men, farmers have been awaiting the next opportunity to get back out on the tractor to finish soybean planting. As one female reader so aptly put it, we perform a public service for the local wives by providing a place for their husbands to hang out other than around the house. Have found it’s good to stay close to the little fat buddies around noon too. Sometimes they’ll even buy you lunch.

More rain and cool temperatures have hampered fieldwork and dampened spirits. Much of the corn that is emerged is showing stress from cool, cloudy weather and is pale in color. And there are some soybeans emerged in the area. Peas and small grains are doing rather well so far as well they should. It has been ideal weather thus far but eventually they too will need to see the sun. Alfalfa should be ready to cut once we get some warmer temps as well. Much of it is 18+ inches in height.

In the yards and gardens, the bleeding hearts have come into full bloom and the lilacs in sheltered areas have begun to exude their heavenly scent. The petals from the apple trees are fluttering to the ground in the breeze. Wet conditions have made lawn mowing difficult much to the chagrin of area lawn mowers and the abundant dandelion crop continues to thwart those who desire a weed free lawn.

Bird watching has taken some interesting turns lately. The first hummingbird at our feeders showed up on the morning of May 10th. That evening a female rose-breasted grosbeak made an appearance. Spotted an eastern kingbird near Trenton Lake on Thursday. While at Mom’s on the weekend we watched an orchard oriole sipping the nectar out of the yellow flowers on the spicebush. Awhile later, a northern oriole joined him, showing the contrast between the chestnut brown of the orchard oriole and the brilliant orange of the northern oriole as well as the slightly smaller size of the former. The orioles at home here have been scarce during the colder cloudy days and when they do show, looks like they have their ear lappers down.

The highlight though has been the wood ducks nesting in the nesting box by the pond. Noticed a couple wood ducks hanging around the pond occasionally and thought perhaps the pond was too open for their comfort. Apparently not. A light brown egg appeared in the nesting box last Wednesday so decided to see if there were more to come. Indeed there were and thought about putting in a reverse peephole. As of this writing there are 6 eggs resting in the cedar shavings in the bottom of a nest lined with twigs and down. Am waiting to see when the hen stops laying as one can peg hatch pretty closely from that point (29 – 30 days)

Fortunately, when I figured out they were serious about nesting, I constructed a cone-type predator guard and attached it to the stop sign post holding the nesting box. There were some telltale signs of scratching on the box likely caused by a raccoon shimmying his way up the sign post trying to get at the nest. They couldn’t quite get enough traction to get a grip but just wanted to make doubly darn sure they didn’t. Am hoping to witness “Jump Day”, the day when the little ducklings will when called by the hen, hop out of the nest and find their way to the water. Hopefully the day after finding the first hatchlings, that will occur. To check out more information about wood ducks, log onto: http://www.woodducksociety.com/
These folks have been very helpful in getting our albeit very small but very enjoyable project off the ground. Better yet become a member of the Wood Duck Society. It only costs $10 a year and I know I’ve sure spent 10 bucks on dumber things.

See you next week…real good then.

Dotch,

I'll tell you that Stephen Straka over at the Wood duck society is a genuinly nice guy who has a passion for these Woodies! I met him a few months ago at a MN Duck banquet at the Chart House in Lakeville and spoke to him a short while back on the phone regarding Wood Ducks. I'd say for anybody thats into Wood Ducks to get in touch with him through his website, he can help get you set up with the how and wheres to put up nesting boxes and any other questions you may have.

You got that right buzz. Had several excellent e-mails from Steve regarding some of the particulars of wood ducks and sounds like he'd be a great guy to meet someday. I lucked out and probably accidentally put the house where it had a decent chance to succeed given the young age of the wetland restoration. As it evolves it appears there will be more cattails & woody, shelter type vegetation, which should make it even better wood duck habitat.

This morning after chores I went down to the pond to get another egg count. I lifted the side door on the nesting box ever so slowly and the hen looked me right square in the eye so I closed it as gradually as I'd opened it. She stayed in there so will check tonite as it appears she lays her eggs in the overnite or AM. Also need to check on the live trap in case there are any predators that need to be dealt with. Hoping no skunks but we have a rope on the trap in case they want to go for a swim...

That swim is a great option for all troubled varmints.

Spring continues to be sprung...

The scurs missed a little of the light rainfall that showed on Sunday but all in all they were close. This week promises to bring with it warmer temperatures but also more potential rainfall. Look for highs in the upper 70’s to low 80’s and lows in the 50’s through early nest week. Best chances of rain are Wednesday and again on Saturday. Normal high is 73 and low is 51. Summer is on our doorstep. The scurs are searching for that long lost shaker of salt.

Bird watching last week included seeing a bobolink near some CRP near Waldorf, a male rose-breasted grosbeak came to the feeder in our yard, and a black-billed cuckoo that had the misfortune of hitting the window. These secretive birds generally are heard and not seen so it took me a few minutes to decide exactly what it was. These are very beneficial birds as one of their favorite things to eat is tent caterpillars. This bird is also sometimes referred to as the rain crow as some hear the cuckoo’s call prior to a rainfall event. The rain crows have been busy so far this spring.

Also of note, the bluebirds have returned to our place and after some house hunting, it looks like they may have decided on one of three available. Tree swallows have laid claim to a couple houses as well as I continue my war on the house sparrows. Finding dead tree female swallows in nesting boxes as a result of a male sparrow pecking them to death only strengthens my resolve. Down at the pond it appears the wood duck hen has finished laying her eggs and that puts jump day at somewhere around June 17th or 18th. All I know is it is awfully crowded in the bottom of the nesting box and it will get worse before it gets better.

Some of the new insects on the scene include the black swallowtail and a monarch seen this past Friday. Also saw a cabbage butterfly so if you have cole crops planted, get ready for little green worms. Many products available for their control including Bt, a bio-insecticide. Lamb tails continue to fall off and the dogwood chokecherry and nannyberries are blooming. I’ve got my spring cold but have been careful not to sneeze in anyone’s pasta Primavera. Did you know that primavera is Italian for spring?

A local Swedish field scout found a weather balloon with a NOAA radiosonde attached in a field NW of New Richland. The radiosonde is a small, expendable instrument package that is suspended below a 2 meter (6 feet) wide balloon filled with hydrogen or helium. As the radiosonde is carried aloft, sensors on the radiosonde measure profiles of pressure, temperature and relative humidity. The radiosonde came complete with mailer so the Swede did the proper thing and mailed it back to its rightful owner. Hopefully they will send some kind of info regarding what it was doing in our local Bugtussle airspace.

Did you catch the smell of the curing hay blowing into Bugtussle last week? Absolutely heavenly. Corn has gotten off to a rocky start in some fields much to the consternation of the Mall for Men’s little fat buddies. Some light scattered frost the morning of May 22nd got the attention of some. Emergence has been erratic and brought those rotary hoes out of the backs of sheds and out of the groves. This week’s weather will tell the tale as to how much will need to be replanted or dealt with in one manner or another. Consumption of coffee and donuts will only return to normal once this problem has been put to rest.

The rotary hoe we had as a kid was a far cry from the models being used today. Nowadays all are mounted but those of my youth were pull type, with rock boxes on top to add weight as well as hold the rocks that would otherwise smash the dickens out of the teeth. I still remember Dad going to purchase the 4-section rotary hoe from an elderly neighbor Rodenz who had a reputation for being somewhat curmudgeonly. He also had some of the most prolific ear hair I’d ever seen which might have explained some of his curmudgeonliness. He was asking $200 for the hoe that Dad thought was a horrible price. I think Dad got him to take $175 for it so at least he felt he’d gotten a deal.

It was reputedly a Minneapolis Moline model and the tongue was made from two heavy rods that hooked into holes in the front of the frame. It had no hydraulic lift or wheels on it so in order to pull it down the road, one put the rods on the backside of the rotary hoe frame and pulled it backwards. The tongue was short however so care needed to be taken on the headlands not to turn too short or one could wind up wearing the rotary hoe once it got done puncturing the rear tire. The bearings were made out of maple and after it had sat in the grove a number of years the bearings would rot. Recall making some new ones out of oak 4x4’s we happened to have on hand.

Rotary hoeing was fun as we could put the E-3 in 4th gear, low range and at 6.5 mph, we thought we were really flying. Until we’d encounter one of the numerous nests of rocks the glacier had left behind for us in the glacial till soils that is. We’d have to slow up, get off and pick up the rocks then jump back on the tractor and continue on. Picking up the rock was preferable to having it get stuck in the hoe and dumping all the rocks out of the rock boxes so we could pick them all up again. This was back in the days of widespread tractor cab use so in addition to eating a lot of dirt, we generally took on the color of the aforementioned soils. Right, Willy E.? ;-)

See you next week…real good then.